Since we last spoke to JLS, they've scored two No.1 hits in the form of 'Beat Again' and 'Everybody In Love', sold over a million copies of their debut album and, perhaps most impressively, remained fully committed to flaunting the best torsos in pop. Now they're back with an opinion-splitting new single that â€“ gasp! - features heavy of use of Auto-Tune and â€“ quelle horreur! â€“ pilfers from The Sound of Music. As you can imagine, we weren't exactly struggling for questions when JB and Marvin gave us a call earlier today.

What can you tell us about your new single 'The Club Is Alive'?JB: "We first heard the track when Steve Mac, who also produced 'Beat Again', played it to us in his studio. He said he had a song that sampled a well-known musical - and obviously we were intrigued by that! Straight away we thought the sample worked really well. It's a very uptempo track that literally makes you feel alive. We hope everyone will enjoy dancing to it."

Are you pleased with the response it's had so far?JB: "Absolutely! We always knew we were taking a risk with it because of the Sound Of Music sample. Like anything in life, there's going to be people who find something negative in it, but generally the response has been fantastic. We love the song and we're very happy with it."

The use of Auto-Tune on the track also seems to have divided fans.JB: "Well, we sat down and discussed the whole idea with Steve first. We loved the sound of the Auto-Tune on Usher's 'OMG', which has obviously been a massive hit. We all know Usher can sing, but he was using it as an effect. Similarly for us, we wanted to come back with something new and fresh, and that effect put a slight twist on our sound."Marvin: "We sang live on The X Factor for ten weeks, so obviously we're using Auto-Tune on this track as an effect rather than to help us sound in tune!"

Does the track reflect the overall sound of the new album?Marvin: "I wouldn't say so. We haven't finished recording the album yet, but so far there are no other songs where Auto-Tune is used to that degree."JB: "We've been in the US meeting a lot of different producers, but the majority of the album's being recorded in the UK. It's a progression from our first album, but we're not changing to a US sound. Our fans are largely from the UK and this album is still for them. We like to think we're establishing the JLS sound as opposed to sounding like other artists."

Who else have you been working with on the album?Marvin: "We've written a couple of tracks with Calvin Harris, although we don't have the final tracklisting yet so we're not sure what's making the final cut. We've also worked with Labrinth and recorded a track with Jay Sean."

Who was your favourite producer to work with?Marvin: "We've just finished some tracks with Stargate, which was incredible. They're probably the most successful R&B producers of the last decade! We're putting the finishing touches to the songs we've recorded with them this week. The success of the first album has obviously enabled us to work with some huge producers, which has been a fantastic opportunity."

Some previously unreleased tracks recently leaked - will any of those make the album?Marvin: "Most of the tracks that leaked were from the first album campaign, but a couple were from a recent batch of demos. None of them will be on the album though. We have no idea how they got out! It's so hard nowadays because the technology is just so good. Once something's out there it's near-impossible to get rid of it."

Have you decided on the next single yet?JB: "We haven't actually! We're focusing on 'The Club Is Alive' at the moment and then we'll finalise the album tracklisting and choose the next single. It'll be coming out in the last quarter of the year, so we've still got plenty of time to plan it all out properly."

You've just been turned into dolls. What accessory would you like your doll to wear?Marvin: "My Vivienne Westwood boots!"JB: "Probably my Alexander McQueen scarf. It's very cool and a bit freaky! Honnestly, the fact that we've been doing this for a year-and-a-half and we're releasing dolls of ourselves is incredible. We're very humbled by it!"

Finally, we hear Miley Cyrus is a fan of yours. Would you consider a duet?JB: "Definitely! I think she's a great talent. She's doing really well and she's been working at it since she was eleven or 12, which we really admire. She's built up a great platform and no doubt she'll go on to bigger and better things. Maybe we could be in one of her movies!"

You could try and get yourselves in the Hannah Montana finale.Both: "Exactly!"